The Call
by Dark Roswellian Angel
Summary: Things have changed, but how much? What’s it going to take for Max to notice?


Title: The Call

Author: Dark Roswellian Angel

Elizabeth McDowell

Disclaimer: You know what? I'm considering saying I do- just because you keep asking. But then I could get in trouble, and it would be all your fault, and you would feel terribly guilty about it, and I just can't have that. Now, knock it off.

Copying/Downloading/Posting: Please let me know first, and let me know where my work will be posted as I would love to come visit it. Make sure that it is put under my name, as I would love to hear how others feel about it. Thanks ;)

Rating: K+, just in case

Synopsis: Things have changed, but how much? What's it going to take for Max to notice?

A/N: I love Alec. If you do, too, please let me know by hitting that little button down there.

* * *

He was in the command center when the call came in. Because she was there. And that was the way it worked. Wherever she was, he was there. Wherever she went, he was sure to be following. Whatever she was doing, it was pretty sure that he would be doing it with her. No matter what hair-brained scheme she or the ever illustrious Eyes Only came up with, he was always there for her. He always had her back. Even when it meant that he had to stand up against their own kind when they started doubting her leadership abilities, or her loyalty to her own people. And it had gotten to the point where no one was sure whether it was him following her or the other way around, or maybe they had become so similar that they were simply going to the same place together.

The residents of TC couldn't even remember the last time they'd seen one of them without the other. And they'd grown to like it that way. They respected each of their leaders individually, but together they seemed to be an unstoppable team. They balanced each other well. When one was too willing to act without thinking something through first, the other helped them focus on logistics. Whenever one was being too hesitant, the other helped them see the urgency. And when they agreed on something, the city's residents had learned to consider it the way things should be done without even questioning it anymore. They knew that together they had their followers' best interests at heart and would always do what they thought would help them the most. And somehow, when they were working together, it always seemed to turn out well.

And so it was that he was in the command center on that particular day. Pretending. Because that also seemed to just be the way it worked. Sometimes he wondered if he was still capable of being real. It always seemed to him that he was pretending one thing or another. Pretending to be her boyfriend. Pretending that he didn't mind. Pretending that he wanted to continue playing the part of the tom-cat- always on the prowl, never getting the real thing because he loved the chase so much. Pretending to laugh about how he got all the good parts of being her boyfriend without having to deal with all the emotional drama. Pretending he didn't want to get the emotional drama. Pretending to enjoy getting to touch her body while knowing that he could never touch her heart. Pretending to not care that just about everyone in TC knew that he was just pretending- except the one person who mattered the most. Pretending that he was just a screw-up so that he could always tell himself that the reason she dismissed him was because she didn't know the real him.… and at the moment, he was pretending that he didn't care that her _real_ boyfriend had just given her the news he'd been dreading for almost two years now. That he didn't care that he could see the excitement in her posture as it straightened, that he couldn't hear the eagerness in her voice as she realized that she could finally be with him again. For good. And now he pretended that he didn't care that he was going to have to pretend that it wasn't killing him. That each happy word out of her mouth wasn't tearing him apart. That the look in the other man's eyes as he watched her and listened to her reaction wasn't making him boil inside with the urge to throttle the man through the videocam.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the good news had already spread through TC. Five minutes after that, Max's loyalties were being questioned again, or perhaps more accurately- her common sense. (_Just how blind is she?!!_ seemed to be a common theme in most of the minds of the city's occupants.) Two minutes later Max was arguing in her office- the one she shares with Alec, the one where her desk has been moved so that they can look directly at each other while they work together to plan their people's future. "We aren't even like that!!"

"Really, Princess. You know, if you keep saying that, maybe you can convince somebody that it's true. Or better yet, maybe you can convince your better half."

Knowing instinctively who Mole was referring to, Max looked around the room, suddenly realizing that Alec wasn't there. It was a disquieting feeling- even before they'd moved to TC she had gotten used to his presence everywhere she went. Now even at night in their home (it had only made sense she'd tried to tell Logan as Alec had rolled his eyes- there wasn't enough room in TC and this way they could discuss maneuvers whenever they wanted) he was never further than the other side of one of their almost paper-thin walls. "Where is he?"

"Funny how you knew exactly who I was talking about. (At her impatient look, he smirked a smirk Alec would have been proud of. Then, the look on her face, one that made her look like a little girl who was missing her favorite dolly, or maybe a transgenic missing the mate she hasn't realized she's in love with yet, made him decide to throw her bone.) He only waited around long enough to hear your happily ever after, and realize that he was just about to be cut loose so you could be with the Ordinary. Then he hightailed it out of here. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already jumped the wall."

She didn't pause to respond before she was out the door and bounding down the stairs.

As he watched her go, Mole slowly shook his head and his mouth reclaimed his habitual cigar. He never would have admitted it, but he hoped she wasn't too late.


End file.
